Sunday, December 29, 2013

Demona-Speaking With The Devil

Infernö Records2013

Chilean speed metal from Quebec, Canada? Yep, that's the case with the female-fronted Demona. Formed in 2007, with the sophomore "Speaking With The Devil" serving as the follow-up album to 2012's "Metal Through the Time", the band's early days were spent in Valparaíso until front-woman/lead singer extraordinarTanza (who started the band which, at least in it's humble beginnings, was a one-woman show after her previous band, Poisoned, disbanded) moved to Quebec in June of 2011. At that point Tanza recruited fellow-minded musicians in order to play live shows and (hopefully) give Demona a complete line-up. After the obligatory line-up changes (including adding Hugo "Witchhammer" Uribe from the Colombian band Witchtrap to the line-up mere weeks before the recording of their 2012, full-length debut album!) the band now features not only Tanza on lead vocals and guitars, but ex-Riotor member Gabriel Dufour
(lead guitarist who is also apparently Tanza's ex-husband), bass player Jeff (ex-No Pity) and drummer Antoine Pellerin. Now, normally I don't include band photos with reviews when we are talking about line-up information and all, but in this case I just couldn't help myself. I'm sure most people will understand why!

All of which brings us to Demona's latest offering/album number two, "Speaking With The Devil". With "Speaking With The Devil" we get 11 songs with a total run-time of 41 minutes. Of course we should cross off both the "Intro" and "Outro" so really it's 9-tracks. Since they range in length from 2:42 ("Malvenidos") to 5:53 ("The Sorceror's Escapade") it's all good and besides, Demona does a lot to pack in as much punch as possible into each track so you'll get your metal's worth with this "Bad Boy"*! Interestingly enough the band's one track, "Dirty Speed Metal", offers a fairly good description of what's in store for the listener when it comes right down to the meat and potatoes of this four-piece. The music is somewhat rough around the edges, but those ragged ridges only help to heighten the awareness that what your listening to is every bit raw/real underground speed metal. Tanza's (thrash metal) voice can be a bit "intense" at times, but it still falls well within the range of "easily-accessible and somewhat-understandable vocal delivery" so it's never really an issue. Meanwhile her metal brothers give her plenty of room to do her own thing while still exercising their own skills. For a band that is still finding it's footing as a full-fledged outfit "Speaking With The Devil" is a good "starting point". One would like to think that with a few more albums under their belt and with a stable line-up in place a band like Demona could really go places. Let's hope so. For now though "Speaking With The Devil" comes recommended to those of you who female-fronted thrash acts as well as those of you like their speed metal a bit more ugly and mean.

* "Bad Boy", which is a real range the f**k track on this album, is finger-bleeding speed metal from hell and one of those numbers where you wonder how it is a band can play that fast and insane without causing a fire from all of the likely friction caused!

"So, in closing, fuck you METAL MARK. Fuck you, fuck Lynch Mob, and fuck your shitty website!”
“I don't know who this METAL MARK is, but I know better than to waste my time checking out anything else written by this asshole”
-Mike